


waiting for her

by SinginInTheRaine



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Comfort, Established Relationship, F/F, Minor Injuries, On the Run, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2020-04-06 10:18:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19060651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SinginInTheRaine/pseuds/SinginInTheRaine
Summary: Four weeks after going on the run, Natasha finally comes back to the woman who loves her. Set post-Civil War.





	waiting for her

**Author's Note:**

  * For [blue_spruce](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blue_spruce/gifts).



The soft knock on the door in the dead of a very stormy night came four weeks later than Maria expected it to, but she was ready and waiting when it did.

She slipped the door open, almost before the echo of the knock had time to fade away, and ushered the figure on the other side into the dimly lit hallway. Only a small light in the kitchen, on the other side of the small, cramped apartment, was on, leaving most of the furniture and what little possessions there were nothing more than shadowy figures in the dark.

She couldn’t see the face of the slight figure who now stood in her hallway, but Maria could tell by the hunch of her shoulders and the droop of her head that she was exhausted. And probably injured.

She stepped close to the figure, enough that she could start to make out the more prominent features of her face, and lifted a hand, brushing the hair hanging over the figure’s face behind her ear.

“Are you okay?” Maria whispered, even though there was no need to talk so low. She was more than confident that they were alone. She’d staked out this place — a safehouse so protected it had never been included in any written information SHIELD had on file and only three people even knew about it — for a week before she moved in, and ever since then, there were more forms of security protecting them here than there were on Avengers Tower, shining brightly all the way across town.

Natasha didn’t answer Maria’s question, but she shook her head, almost imperceptibly, and Maria took her hand and led her out of the hall and into the single bedroom around the corner.

She helped Natasha sit on the edge of the bed, and almost immediately, Natasha dropped her hands into her lap, staring at the floor.

Maria wanted nothing more than to take her in her arms, to hold her, to kiss her, to ask her where she had been and what had happened and who was following her. She had absolutely zero idea of Natasha’s whereabouts after she had disappeared without a trace from the hospital in Germany where Rhodey had been taken after his paralyzing accident. 

With Fury’s help, Maria had discovered that Tony had been the last one to talk to her — the last one to see her. He’d warned her that T’Challa had turned her in for helping Steve and Bucky escape and that a lot of governments around the world were now after her. 

Probably along with a lot of other people, Maria had thought then and still thought now. 

Maria might not have known every single atrocity that Natasha, in her past, had been responsible for — or ordered to be responsible for, more likely — but she knew enough to know there were a lot of people who would happily take revenge in any way they could get it.

The only comfort she’d had in these past four weeks was the knowledge that if neither she nor Fury could find any trace of where Natasha had vanished to, maybe no one else could either. All Maria had been able to do was go back to the one place she was sure Natasha would return to and wait.

Maria made her way into the bathroom, sure that Natasha was not going anywhere, She flipped on a light, bent down and open a cabinet under the sink, pulling out all the supplies she might possibly need — needle and thread, bandages, an assortment of rags, ointments and even a bottle of aspirin.

She stood up and grabbed a small bin lying next to the tub, filling it quickly with warm water. Picking up all her supplies, an assortment of towels and the tub of water, she made her way back to Natasha.

This time she did crouch down in front of her, lifting her hands to take Natasha’s in her own.

“Are you hurt?” she asked her softly.

Natasha shrugged, like it didn’t matter, and it probably didn’t matter to her, but it mattered to Maria. 

Maria looked over her girlfriend. She was dressed almost like any other New Yorker out on the streets. Jeans, a black hoodie, black running shoes. With the light of the bathroom reaching them, Maria could see, though, that Natasha was covered in dirt, and there were holes in all her clothes.

She let go of Natasha’s hands and took hold of the bottom of Natasha’s hoodie, pulling it upward. Natasha obediently raised her arms, even though Maria hadn’t made any verbal request.

The long sleeve black shirt she had on beneath it came next, followed by the black bra, both shoes and a pair of socks that were so muddy Maria couldn’t tell their original color. After Maria unbuttoned Natasha’s jeans and pulled down the zipper, Natasha lifted herself slightly and a few seconds later, her jeans joined the rest of the clothes on the ground, followed finally by her black underwear.

Now Maria could really look at Natasha, still sitting almost mutely on the bed, but now completely naked. There were bruises all down her arms and legs, an ugly gash on her side that looked like it had already been stitched (probably by Natasha) and a variety of scratches on her neck and shoulder, like someone had tried to claw her.

“What happened?” was on the tip of Maria’s tongue, but she forced it down. Natasha would tell her when she was ready. Right now, she just needed to feel safe. Feel loved. Not that Natasha would ever say that out loud, but if there was one thing Maria had learned over the years, that was it. Natasha’s insecurities about whether she could ever make up for her past, about whether she could ever deserve to be loved, were always there, floating near the surface, and sometimes — especially when she and Maria were apart for long periods of time — they reared their ugly heads with a ferocity that left Natasha reeling, even though she was always very goodt at pretending otherwise.

Maria started with the warm water in the tub. She dipped a small towel into it, making sure the cloth was completely warm and damp, and then inch by inch, she washed all the dirt and all the grime and all the blood away, from Natasha’s face and arms and torso and legs. With each stroke she made, Natasha seemed to relax, and finally, she reached out, grabbing Maria’s hand as Maria rubbed the towel over the slash on her side.

“I’ve missed you,” Natasha said, her voice almost hoarse, like she hadn’t used it in a while, and she smiled at Maria in the way she only ever smiled at her, the smile that made Maria’s heart skip a beat that someone like Natasha could want her so much.

And then Natasha was kissing her, her hand still wrapped around Maria’s wrist.

A part of Maria’s brain thought she should finish cleaning her, should probably bandage her, maybe even put her to bed, but it had been four weeks since she had talked to her, so much longer since she had seen her. 

And there was no fresh blood, no immediate concern.

She pushed Natasha backward, hovering over her, before kissing her hard, and Natasha moaned into Maria’s lips as Maria’s hand starting a path southward until it reached its destination.

•••

They woke up the next morning, curled together on one pillow, fingers entwined. Natasha had eventually let Maria examine the stiches — and then made her compliment her for her handiwork — and cover them with a fresh bandage. Maria had also been allowed to apply ointment to all her bruises and tend to the scrapes.

She still hadn’t told Maria what had happened while she was on the run, but Maria wasn’t worried. The story would come, and once it did, they would figure out their next steps together.

After all, they always did.


End file.
